Avery Johnson: The Little General from New Orleans

The Little General from New Orleans

Avery Johnson was born on March 25, 1965, in New Orleans, Louisiana. At five-foot-eleven in a sport dominated by giants, he wasn't supposed to make it. He went undrafted out of Southern University in 1988, bounced around the NBA and the CBA, and refused to accept that his height was a ceiling. The nickname "Little General" described both his size and his leadership style — a point guard who commanded the floor with the intensity of a four-star officer.

Johnson's NBA career spanned sixteen seasons, most of them with the San Antonio Spurs. He wasn't a star in the traditional sense — he wasn't going to outscore anyone or make highlight reels. But he was the point guard on the 1999 Spurs championship team, and he hit the go-ahead shot in Game 5 of the NBA Finals with forty-seven seconds remaining. The undrafted kid from New Orleans made the shot that won Tim Duncan and David Robinson their first championship.

From Player to Coach

The Spurs retired his number 6 in 2007 — a remarkable honor for an undrafted player. Johnson transitioned into coaching and won NBA Coach of the Year in 2006 while leading the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance. He coached three consecutive 50-plus win seasons in Dallas before moving on to the Brooklyn Nets and then the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball program.

New Orleans Tough

Avery Johnson's career is a testament to what New Orleans produces: people who are tougher than their circumstances suggest, who refuse to accept the limitations others place on them, and who find a way to be in the room when the biggest moments happen. He wasn't supposed to play in the NBA. He won a championship. He wasn't supposed to coach at the highest level. He won Coach of the Year. The Little General from New Orleans was never little where it counted.